System of making fibrous-filled furniture seat and back cushion elements



3,439,397 FILLED FURNITURE SEAT AND BACK CUSHION ELEMENTS Sheet April 22, 1959 M. A. MARSHAK SYSTEM OF MAKING FIBROUS Flled Nov 2 1966 FIG. 2

INVENTOR. MdAT/A 4. MA/FSIV IK April 22, 1969 M. A. MARSHAK SYSTEM OF MAKING FIBROUSFILLED FURNITURE SEAT 'AND BACK CUSHION ELEMENTS Filed NOV. 2, 1966 Sheet V s m ..|l m W F. z w H a 1 a I :9 I) 1.

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April 22, 1969 M. A. MARSHAK 3,439,397

SYSTEM OF MAKING FlBROUS-FILLED FURNITURE SEAT 7ers AND BACK CUSHION ELEMENTS 2, 1966 Sheet Filed Nov.

United States Patent 3,439,397 SYSTEM OF MAKING FIBROUS-FILLED FURNI- TURE SEAT AND BACK CUSHION ELEMENTS Martin A. Marshak, Searington, N.Y. (101-12 84th St., Ozone Park, N.Y. 11416) Filed Nov. 2, 1966, Ser. No. 591,630 Int. Cl. B68g 7/00; A47c 7/00 US. Cl. 29-91 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to a furniture making procedure and it particularly relates to methods of making seats and hacks for furniture in which a stufling material, whether it be textile fibers such as wool padding, cotton balls or the like, is deposited within an enclosing material, usually of synthetic character such as sheet vinyl polymers, sheet polyethylene, sheet polypropylene or sheet polyester materials.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a simple, semi-automatic method of manufacturing seat furniture or chair elements so that a uniform product is obtained with a minimum of manual operations and with assurance that there will be adequate filling with minimum ripping, tearing or distortion of the objects which are formed.

Another object is to provide a stuffed furniture element, whether it be a chair seat or back, in which the filling operation may be substantially automatically carried out with a minimum of manual labor and with assurance that uniform products will be obtained with adequate stuffing and without undue looseness or distortion of the material being processed.

Still further objects and advantages will appear in the more detailed description set forth below, it being understood, however, that this more detailed description is given by way of illustration and explanation only and not by way of limitation, since various changes therein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

In accomplishing the above objects it has been found most satisfactory, according to one embodiment of the present invention to provide a turntable device which will carry the filling receptacles in which the cover element of the seat or back may be placed and drawn into position by suitable vacuum application. This element then is filled with a suitable padding or other fibers or stuffing material and this stuffiing material is compressed into position by means of a receptacle sleeve detachably attached to the container element. When the filling compression ice has been completed the loading sleeve is removed and the cover is then caused to extend over the side of the element where the filling took place and the final construction then may be stapled or otherwise put in final form.

Desirably, the compression operation is carried on by means of pressing a backing board or plaque into the cushion or filled seat or back element by means of a pressure device, desirably pneumatically driven. It is this plaque or wooden element which is then firmly mounted in position so that the final chair element, whether it be a back or a seat, is provided with its cover and basic support.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists of the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter more specifically described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown an embodiment of the invention, but it is to be understood that changes, variations and modifications can be resorted to which fall within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a top diagrammatic plan view of the filling apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the filling apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2a is a fragmentary transverse sectional view upon the line 2a2a of FIG. 1, upon an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 1, showing the inserted cover.

FIG. 2b is a fragmentary transverse sectional view of the edge of one of the cushion elements, upon an enlarged scale as compared to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 20 is a transverse horizontal sectional view of the column of the lower column of the machine.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view upon the line 33 of FIG. 1, upon an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 1, showing the loading station.

FIG. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view upon the line 44 of FIG. 1, upon an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 1, showing the filling station.

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view similar to FIG. 4, showing the compression operation after the filling has taken place.

FIG. 6 is a transverse vertical sectional view similar to FIG. 4, showing removal of the perforated filler cylinder.

FIG. 7 is a transverse sectional view similar to FIG. 3, showing the unloading operation.

FIG. 8 is a top perspective view upon a reduced scale, showing the furniture cushion or seat cushion formed as a result of the operations of FIGS. 1 to 7.

FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the cushion of FIG. 8 after it has been removed from the machine of FIGS. 1 to 7 and after the covering has been stapled in position.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, there is shown a typical cushion, back rest or seat that can be made according to procedure of the present invention. Desirably, the element A may have a synthetic or natural leather top B and sides C and a baseboard of plastic or wood D, to which the inturned edges E are stapled at F. The elastic band G draws the edges E inwardly before the stapling.

In the apparatus, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, there is a source S of comminuted cotton batting or other fibrous material which is drawn through the connecting conduit H into the perforated filling sleeve I having the latch fingers K.

The container elements L have vacuum or suction connections M to draw into position the plastic cover B-C having the edges E, the periphery of which carries the rubber band G. The containers L in FIGS. 1 and 2 may be either in loading station I, as also shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, or they may be in filling or compressing station II, as shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the filling stations L are carried by a rotating carrier arm N, which is provided with a central sleeve P rotatably mounted on the main up right R. There is a shaft T having the meshing drive gearing U driven from the motor V.

The air cylinder W is carried on the arm X, which is provided with a plunger Y to eject the finished seat element A on the piston element Z. The plaque element D is normally held in position by means of the spring clips AA (see FIGS. 4, 5 and 6) but it may be pressed past said clips by means of the platen BB on the plunger CC operated by the pneumatic cylinder DD.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 2a, 2b and 3, the plastic cover, which can be of vinyl film or other thermoplastic or even sheet material or coated woven or non-woven fabrics, has an edge elastic band G shown in FIG. 2a, stitched or cemented or otherwise attached to the edge of the cover portion H.

The side walls C and the top facing B of the cushion are jointed together by means of the stitching 21, as shown in FIG. 2b through the edges 22 and through the tail 23 of the bead 24.

When the cover, as indicated in FIG. 1, is placed over the opening 25 and the loading station of FIG. 3, the cover will be drawn into the recess 26 and tightly against the side walls 27 and against the top wall 28 of the pusher member Z. The suction is applied by means of the hose M, which is connected to a suitable source of vacuum.

After the cover B-C is placed in position in the loading station I of FIG. 3, the container L is moved through 180 from loading position I to filling position II, the direction of rotation being indicated by the arrows 28 of FIG. 1. This rotation is accomplished by means of the motor V acting through the gearing H upon the tubular shaft 29 indicated diagrammatically at FIG. 20.

When the square container L is then moved into filling position II by rotation of the arms N by means of the pneumatic cylinder 30 and the air pressure inlet 31 and the central rod 32, the container L is elevated to the position shown in FIG. 4 from the lower dot and dash position to the upper dot and dash position, with the vacuum M being maintained. When in position II, as shown in FIG. 4, filling material is blown inwardly, as indicated by the arrow 33, through the conduit H to fill the interior of the perforated cylinder J.

The perforated cylinder J has the depending latches K and when the container L is elevated, as indicated by the arrow 34 in FIGS. 2 and 4, the teeth or beveled faces 35 of the latches K will slip over the rubber bands K and the shoulders 36 will latch below the rubber bands or elastic bands G. The shoulder 37 will rest on the other turned portion of the side wall C and make a seal at this point.

The perforations 38 will permit air to escape, and before the fibrous material is filled in the plaque D is placed in position above the latches AA to cover the vessel I. The filling material 39 will then be blown into the interior of the receptacle J until such receptacle is substantially completely loosely filled and all excess air has been eliminated through the openings 38.

Then the compression operation takes place, as shown in FIG. 5. In this operation the piston or platen BB will be moved downwardly, as indicated by the arrow 40, from the upper position of FIG. 4 to the lower position of FIG. 5, pressing down the wooden or plastic backing plate D over the oblique shoulders 48 of the spring latches AA until it is below the location of the upper edges 42 of the container L.

The compressed material, as indicated at 43, will be in such a state of compression that it may now be regarded as the compacted filling of the final cushion or seat of FIGS. 8 and 9. After this compression operation, as shown in FIG. 5, the container L is then moved back to the loading and unloading position I. When this takes place, the container L will be lowered, as indicated by the arrow 44, and as a result the fingers or latches K will be lifted, drawing up the elastic band G, which will then snap inwardly, as indicated by the arrows 45, across the base 46 of the plaque or back member D, leaving the ends of the vinyl or other plastic cover in position on the base of the seat, as shown in FIG. 9, ready for application of the staples F.

In the final operation shown in FIG. 7 the air cylinder W is actuated to move the connecting rod 47 upwardly, whereupon the top element 48 will contact the downward extension Y and press the bottom plate Z upwardly so that the cushion or inverted seat element may then be removed and the staples F applied. This arrangement permits rapid automatic operation, produces uniform seat cushions, and it may be utilized either for square cushions, as indicated in FIGS. 8 and 9, or round cushions or other shapes, depending upon the shaples of the cylinder J and the container L, which may be interchanged, depending upon the size required. This device permits rapid, semiautomatic operation, with the uniform type of cushion being produced and with a minimum of defective elements. It also permits much cleaner operation than is possible with complete manual control.

The entire apparatus may be supported on the four legged stand 50 and the overhead member 52, with the horizontal top element 53 which carries the pneumatic cylinder DD having the hose connection 54 (see FIG. 2).

As many changes could be made in the above furniture seats and backs and method of making the same, and many widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departure from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Have now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed. What is claimed is:

1. A system of making fibrous filled furniture, seat, back and cushion elements of the type having a flexible cover and flexible sides and a rigid bottom support, which comprises suction expansion of the flexible cover and sides into a cup shaped container having a base and sides, applying a filling cylinder to said container to engage the upper edges of the container and the upper edges of the flexible cover and sides, blowing fibrous filling material into the filling cylinder to fill the same, compressing the fibrous filling material into said container, inserting the bottom support into the upper portion of the container, removing the filling cylinder, causing the edges of the flexible sides to draw in the sides over the edges of the bottom support.

2. The system of claim 1, including the step of stapling the edges of the bottom support in position.

3. The system of claim 1, including a turntable being provided, with a loading and unloading position and a filling and compressing position 180 therefrom and elevating the container in the filling and compressing position to engage the filling cylinder.

4. The system of claim 1 including pneumatic cylinders being provided to elevate the container to engage the filling cylinder prior to blowing in fibrous filling material.

5. The system of claim 1, said flexible sides having terminal elastic means extending around the peripheiy 5 6 thereof and said terminal elastic means being first placed References Cited. over the outside of the container and then being elevated UNITED STATES PATENTS and permitted to draw inwardly over the rigid support 184818 11/1876 Archer after the filling and compression have taken place. 1362364 5/1913 6. The system of claim 1, said container having a pis- 5 3 252 737 5 19 Seaton 297.4 2 ton bottom with a reciprocable vertical plunger member 3,270,394 9/1966 Marsh t 1, 29 91.1

and a pneumatic cylinder to actuate said plunger member.

7. The system of claim 1, said filling cylinder having THOMAS EAGER pl'imary Examiner downwardly extending latch fingers to engage the edges 10 US Cl X R of the flexible sides to elevate them where they may be drawn in over the edges of the bottom support. 91-53 297-462 

